Converse Inc., the nation's largest athletic shoe company, said it will begin airing a series of public service announcements Thursday featuring NBA stars and coaches warning Americans that "anyone can get the AIDS virus."
The 30-second spots, titled "Magic's Athletes Against AIDS," will feature Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns, Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets and former New York Knicks coach Rick Pitino, now head coach at the University of Kentucky.Converse, who has paid Magic Johnson to endorse its products for the past 13 years, said Tuesday the ad would be aired for the next three weeks on the major networks and the popular cable music channel MTV, at a cost of $1 million.
Additional 30- and 15-second spots with Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics and North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith will be produced in 1992, along with print ads on AIDS education and research, the company said. All of the coaches and athletes featured in the spots endorse Converse products.
Converse first announced it would sponsor the spots in November, shortly after Johnson disclosed that he had contracted HIV and was retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers.
At the time, Converse President Gib Ford said the company would honor its contract with Johnson, which runs through 1995.
Johnson has said he plans to devote much of his time and energy to warning Americans, particularly young people, about AIDS and urging them to practice safer sex. But Converse said he would not appear in the "Magic's Athletes Against AIDS" series.
"Right now, we felt it would be more effective to have athletes speaking to his cause, rather than having Johnson in there himself," said Converse spokeswoman Jennifer Murray. "We just thought it would be a more effective message."
The initial ad will debut on NBC's "Different World" and FOX's "Beverly Hills, 90210" Thursday, and will continue with spots on "Saturday Night Live," "Arsenio Hall," "In Living Color," "Fresh Prince," "Friday Night Videos" and "Married . . . With Children," the announcement said.